Teamsters
Hoffa: Teamsters Put Corruption In Its Past USA Today ...The Teamsters Union and the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York filed an application with Chief Judge Loretta Preska requesting that she approve an agreement to end decades of government oversight of our union. We anticipate that the court will approve the agreement...
Allegiant Airline Pilots Picket For Better Pay WKMG ...Teamsters Local 1224, which represents roughly 500 pilots for Allegiant Airlines, said it's been in negotiations with the company since 2012, but those talks have yielded little to no progress. "We seek average wages and job protections, which are standard in the airline industry," said Teamsters Local 1224 President Dan Wells...
Hunts Point Workers Postpone Strike Until Sunday at Request of Federal Mediator Teamsters Joint Council 16 ...Teamsters Local 202 has postponed its strike at Hunts Point Market until 4 p.m. Sunday, at the request of the Acting Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service...
Bronx Produce Company Workers Threaten Strike Over Daily $5 Raise Request New York Daily News ...The Hunts Point Produce Market workers are threatening to go on strike unless a deal is reached by after midnight Friday — raising the specter of New Yorkers having to forego their kale salads and blueberry smoothies. “This is a story about people that work really hard and want to be compensated for it,” said Daniel Kane, president of Teamsters Local 202...
Teamsters To Meet With Producers In Hope of Averting Commercials Strike Deadline Hollywood ...Teamster leaders say that the new meeting, set for January 24, is being called “in anticipation of a revised offer” from producers. The first offer was rejected overwhelmingly by the local’s members on January 11, which put the union on a strike footing...
Teamsters Blast Green Light Allowing Mexican Trucks Roll Nationwide People's World ...An "outraged" union President James Hoffa called DOT's ruling "rash" and in defiance of facts about un-inspected and unsafe Mexican trucks and lack of U.S. inspectors that the agency's own Inspector General uncovered...
Trade
Japan TPP negotiator: felt US intends to wrap up talks in few months Reuters ...But Oe also said more work needed to be done and it was not yet a situation in which a "political decision" could be arranged...
State Battles
Labor Groups File Suit To Stop Kentucky County Right-To-Work Law Reuters ...Nine labor unions filed suit in a Kentucky federal court late on Wednesday to stop a county from enacting right-to-work legislation they say violates the National Labor Relations Act...
Barren County Fiscal Court magistrates tackle ‘right-to-work’ Glasgow Daily Times ...A committee of the Barren County Fiscal Court will be considering Tuesday whether to take a “right-to-work” ordinance to the full court...
Michigan Republicans making new push for prevailing wage repeal in state Legislature Michigan Live ...Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof on Thursday announced plans to sponsor Senate Bill 1, which will seek repeal the 50-year old law that requires union wages and benefits for workers on government-funded construction projects...
Thrasher nixes meeting with students on Koch funding Tallahassee Democrat ...Florida State University President John Thrasher abruptly canceled a meeting Wednesday with students who believe FSU sold its academic integrity for funding of some economics teaching positions by the conservative Koch brothers...
The Koch Foundation funds a lecture series at Penn Daily Pennsylvanian ...The industrialist siblings contributed more than $12.7 million to 163 colleges and universities in 2012. According to the Koch Family Foundations website, Penn is one of those recipient schools, having received a one-time grant of $5,000...
Sinquefield Is Top Missouri Campaign Donor in 2014; McCaskill Leads Democrats St. Louis Public Radio ...During 2014, wealthy financier Rex Sinquefield cemented his place as Missouri’s top political donor — by far — by distributing close to $10 million to candidates and political groups...
N.J. unions back in court today fighting Christie's pension cuts NJ.com ...Seven months after a state Superior Court judge excused Gov. Chris Christie from making a full pension contribution in the last fiscal year, New Jersey unions return to court this morning to fight for the $1.57 billion still in play...
War on Workers
Judge Overturns Home Health Care Wage, Overtime Rules Associated Press ...A federal judge on Wednesday overturned Labor Department regulations requiring overtime and minimum wage protection for 2 million home health care workers...
Trying To Solve The Great Wage Slowdown New York Times ...While wages and incomes have stagnated in the United States (as well as in Japan and large parts of Europe), they have not done so everywhere. In Canada, a broad measure of incomes has risen about 10 percent since 2000, even as it’s fallen here. In Australia, it’s up 30 percent...
What your bank owes you: clarity opinion Los Angeles Times ...many who attend college do not understand their student loans, and 14% of students with federal loans believe they have no student loan debt at all...
Republicans should join in scuttling Citizens United (opinion) The Hill ...Poll after poll shows that the majority of voters of all political stripes are alarmed at the record amounts of money pouring into elections. Voters feel they are being drowned out...
Woman, EMS Worker Killed In Separate Accidents As Wrecks Reported On Icy Patches On NC Roads The Republic ...An emergency worker and a 22-year-old woman were killed in separate accidents Wednesday related to the icy weather that struck portions of North Carolina...
Super Bowl Setup Worker Killed In Fall From Tower KPHO ...A worker on a Super Bowl setup crew died after falling from a tower outside University of Phoenix Stadium. It happened Wednesday shortly after noon in a parking lot where the NFL Tailgate Party will take place...
Georgia Factory Worker Killed By Falling Tons Of Marble New York Daily News ...Falling tons of marble crushed a Georgia factory worker to death Tuesday, authorities said...
Miscellaneous
U.S. Retail Sales Reflect Consumer Caution Despite Lower Gas Prices Wall Street Journal ...Steady job growth and relatively strong confidence supported an upward trend in consumer spending through most of 2014, before the December easing. Most economists expect those factors, beyond just lower energy prices, to support household spending—and overall economic growth—this year despite headwinds from small wage gains and overseas turmoil...
Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retail. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2015
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
This is what happens when workers' wages fall...
...they quit buying things in stores.
Here's a chart that shows how median household income has fallen since 2000:
American households are dying a slow financial death. Median household income fell $4,500 since 2008, from $56,000 to $51,500.
That means retail chains aren't selling as much as they expected -- by the biggest margins in 13 years, according to Bloomberg:
Here's a chart that shows how median household income has fallen since 2000:
That means retail chains aren't selling as much as they expected -- by the biggest margins in 13 years, according to Bloomberg:
Most retail segments are showing profit declines, with department stores, teen-apparel chains and home-furnishing stores faring the worst, Retail Metrics said. About 41 percent of retailers have missed estimates, while 45 percent have beat.
Improved weather, pent-up demand and better employment trends may help the industry in the second quarter (Ken) Perkins (Retail Metrics’ president) said. Analysts are projecting an 8.6 percent gain in profit for the current three-month period, he said.That may be optimistic, since most of the jobs being created only pay low wages.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Today's Teamster News 12.24.13
Just a reminder we will resume posting Teamster News on Monday, Dec. 30.
U.S. Flouts Its Own Advice in Procuring Overseas Clothing New York Times ...One of the world’s biggest clothing buyers, the United States government spends more than $1.5 billion a year at factories overseas, acquiring everything from the royal blue shirts worn by airport security workers to the olive button-downs required for forest rangers and the camouflage pants sold to troops on military bases...
PBS Drops a Bombshell on the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday Party Wall Street on Parade ...two famous stock market historians made the same stunning announcement – that the Fed has decided its job is to push up the stock market...
Holiday sales down for third week Associated Press ...After a strong start to the holiday shopping season, sales at stores have fallen for the third consecutive week as Americans continue to hold back on spending during what is traditionally the busiest buying period of the year...
Retail Traffic Plunges By "Staggering" 21% In Week Before Christmas zero hedge ...the "eroding middle class can no longer drive activity as it has in the past"...
Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression Mother Jones ...The economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more. In less than a week, emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million of these jobless Americans are set to run out...
Phoenix Becomes First City To End Chronic Homelessness Among Veterans ThinkProgress ...Three years ago, city officials identified 222 homeless veterans living in Phoenix. Using both state and federal funds, the city had successfully housed the last veterans who were living without homes. ..
FALSE: Gov. Scott Walker says protesters surrounded his car, blocked his exit and rocked the vehicle after a 2011 appearance in La Crosse Politifact ...Based on the available information, we think the book’s depiction of what happened -- an organized effort to prevent Walker from leaving that placed him in direct danger -- is False...
De Blasio Hires Goldman Sachs Exec To Make City More Affordable gothamist ...For all his campaign bluster against the two cities New York has become, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio isn't exactly shying away from some of the people who helped make it that way...
U.S. Flouts Its Own Advice in Procuring Overseas Clothing New York Times ...One of the world’s biggest clothing buyers, the United States government spends more than $1.5 billion a year at factories overseas, acquiring everything from the royal blue shirts worn by airport security workers to the olive button-downs required for forest rangers and the camouflage pants sold to troops on military bases...
PBS Drops a Bombshell on the Federal Reserve’s 100th Birthday Party Wall Street on Parade ...two famous stock market historians made the same stunning announcement – that the Fed has decided its job is to push up the stock market...
Holiday sales down for third week Associated Press ...After a strong start to the holiday shopping season, sales at stores have fallen for the third consecutive week as Americans continue to hold back on spending during what is traditionally the busiest buying period of the year...
Retail Traffic Plunges By "Staggering" 21% In Week Before Christmas zero hedge ...the "eroding middle class can no longer drive activity as it has in the past"...
Charts: The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis Since the Depression Mother Jones ...The economic downturn remains in full effect for millions of Americans, particularly the nearly 40 percent of the unemployed who have been looking for work for six months or more. In less than a week, emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million of these jobless Americans are set to run out...
Phoenix Becomes First City To End Chronic Homelessness Among Veterans ThinkProgress ...Three years ago, city officials identified 222 homeless veterans living in Phoenix. Using both state and federal funds, the city had successfully housed the last veterans who were living without homes. ..
FALSE: Gov. Scott Walker says protesters surrounded his car, blocked his exit and rocked the vehicle after a 2011 appearance in La Crosse Politifact ...Based on the available information, we think the book’s depiction of what happened -- an organized effort to prevent Walker from leaving that placed him in direct danger -- is False...
De Blasio Hires Goldman Sachs Exec To Make City More Affordable gothamist ...For all his campaign bluster against the two cities New York has become, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio isn't exactly shying away from some of the people who helped make it that way...
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
This week: Walmart protests go global
The UNI Global Union – an international federation of 900 unions in 140 countries – has put out the call for global protests demanding respect and good jobs throughout Walmart’s supply chain:
Workers around the world will come together November 18-24 for a global week of action… Workers and their unions in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and the United States are joining together to demand better pay and working conditions for the 2.2 million Walmart workers and countless supply chain workers.UNI passed a resolution last month in support of the Walmart campaign, creating the UNI Alliance @ Walmart. Its demands include that Walmart allow workers to organize without fear of retaliation and pay workers a living wage with decent working conditions.
The global union wants Walmart to sign a “Global Framework Agreement” with UNI that guarantees the rights of Walmart workers around the globe. It’s also calling on Walmart to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and to compensate the victims of factory disasters at Tazreen, Rana Plaza and Aswad – three factories (or “death traps”) that produced apparel for Walmart stores.
According to UNI:
Walmart must pay its 2.2 million global workforce plus countless supply chain workers a fair wage and treat them with dignity. Workers and union members within the UNI Walmart Global Union Alliance will be taking their legitimate grievances to the street, demanding that the Walton family which controls Walmart finally wakes up and changes the company’s culture.
As part of the Global Action Week a petition and letter are being sent to the Walmart board cataloging a culture of unfair scheduling, low wages and retaliation against employees who have the temerity to speak out.The Walmart Week of Global Action is the latest in a wave of low-wage worker strikes crashing Walmart’s busiest shopping season. The past few weeks have seen strikes in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Dayton and Cincinnati.
Yesterday port drivers who haul Walmart goods launched a 36-hour strike in California to protest Unfair Labor Practices, including port companies’ payroll fraud by calling drivers “independent contractors.” The drivers have been joined by workers at two warehouses that move Walmart products where working condition are horrendous.
Teamsters are standing strong with the port drivers and warehouse workers.
The momentum for change at Walmart is building steam beyond the streets, too. Walmart is being charged by the NLRB with illegally retaliating against 117 workers. Plus, Walmart is getting slammed in the media with reports about an employee food drive in Ohio to help “Associates in Need” buy Thanksgiving dinner and a Demos report that says Walmart could afford to pay all of its U.S. employees $14.89 an hour if it stopped buying its own stock.
With Black Friday on the horizon, now is the time to get involved and support Walmart workers. And while you’re protesting on Black Friday (click here to find an action near you), don’t forget to support the international campaign for fairness at Walmart by sending a copy of the UNI letter to Walmart’s HQ and signing the online petition to support Walmart workers worldwide.
The globalization of Walmart labor unrest is welcome news for workers in the U.S. We need nothing less than a global movement of workers to take on a global giant like Walmart.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Today's Teamster News 03.27.13
Real wages decline; literally no one notices Angry Bear ...Real wages fell 0.2% in 2012, down from $295.49 (1982-84 dollars) to $294.83 per week, according to the 2013 Economic Report of the President….Yet no one in the media noticed, or at least none thought it newsworthy...
Has trade weighed down wages? manufacture this ... trade with less-developed countries lowered wages in 2011 by roughly $1,800 for a full-time, full-year worker earning the average wage for employees without a four-year college degree...
Store Charges Browsing Customers $5 'Just Looking' Fee Daily Finance ...A store in Australia is apparently taking an extreme approach to eliminating showrooming, alerting would-be customers that they'll be charged $5 if they come in to browse but don't buy anything...
Customers Flee Wal-Mart Empty Shelves for Target, Costco Bloomberg ...Wal-Mart doesn’t have enough bodies to restock the shelves, according to interviews with store workers. In the past five years, the world’s largest retailer added 455 U.S. Wal-Mart stores, a 13 percent increase ... In the same period, its total U.S. workforce, which includes Sam’s Club employees, dropped by about 20,000, or 1.4 percent...
Wal-Mart sues grocery union, others over trespassing in Florida Reuters ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) has sued a major grocery workers union and others who have protested at its Florida stores, the latest salvo in its legal fight to stop "disruptive" rallies in and around its stores by groups seeking better pay and working conditions...
The Lesson From Cyprus: Europe Is Politically Bankrupt The Automatic Earth ...people from Portugal to Spain to Italy to Greece to Cyprus and Ireland are worse off today than they were when they first adopted the euro. Moreover, their economies are all getting worse as we speak and projected to plunge further...
Europe Expands Investigation Into Derivatives Market New York Times ...European Union antitrust regulators have expanded their investigation into whether a small network of big banks unfairly controls the derivatives market...
US military veterans face inadequate care after returning from war – report Guardian ...Almost half of the 2.2 million troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan report difficulties on their return home, but many receive inadequate care from the US Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs...
Paycheck protection bill: Measure hurts unions, working families (LTE) News-Leader ...The paycheck deception bill aims to strip away (Missouri) public sector workers’ right to choose whether or not to have union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks, and it would infringe on these workers’ freedom of speech by making contributing to a political fund more difficult...
Montana Senate backs bill requiring 'dark money' groups to ID donors Missoulian ...The Senate, in a vote Monday that exposed the split among Republicans, endorsed an overhaul of Montana’s campaign finance law to require anonymous “dark money” political groups to disclose their donors...
Senate GOP pushes union dues, unemployment changes Associated Press ...The Georgia business lobby won another victory as the Senate approved a change on paycheck deductions for union dues and limited unemployment benefits for certain temporary workers...
Proposed Income Tax Cut Likely to Hurt, Rather than Help Wisconsin Economy Wisconsin Budget Project Blog ...n the 1990s, the five states with the deepest tax cuts grew at less than a third the rate of all the other states over the next economic cycle...
Kasich signs SB 47, starts clock for opponents to shut down bill Plain Dealer ...Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Friday that would make it harder for Ohio voters to repeal laws. Now the clock is ticking for opponents who could void the controversial bill...
Has trade weighed down wages? manufacture this ... trade with less-developed countries lowered wages in 2011 by roughly $1,800 for a full-time, full-year worker earning the average wage for employees without a four-year college degree...
Store Charges Browsing Customers $5 'Just Looking' Fee Daily Finance ...A store in Australia is apparently taking an extreme approach to eliminating showrooming, alerting would-be customers that they'll be charged $5 if they come in to browse but don't buy anything...
Customers Flee Wal-Mart Empty Shelves for Target, Costco Bloomberg ...Wal-Mart doesn’t have enough bodies to restock the shelves, according to interviews with store workers. In the past five years, the world’s largest retailer added 455 U.S. Wal-Mart stores, a 13 percent increase ... In the same period, its total U.S. workforce, which includes Sam’s Club employees, dropped by about 20,000, or 1.4 percent...
Wal-Mart sues grocery union, others over trespassing in Florida Reuters ...Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) has sued a major grocery workers union and others who have protested at its Florida stores, the latest salvo in its legal fight to stop "disruptive" rallies in and around its stores by groups seeking better pay and working conditions...
The Lesson From Cyprus: Europe Is Politically Bankrupt The Automatic Earth ...people from Portugal to Spain to Italy to Greece to Cyprus and Ireland are worse off today than they were when they first adopted the euro. Moreover, their economies are all getting worse as we speak and projected to plunge further...
Europe Expands Investigation Into Derivatives Market New York Times ...European Union antitrust regulators have expanded their investigation into whether a small network of big banks unfairly controls the derivatives market...
US military veterans face inadequate care after returning from war – report Guardian ...Almost half of the 2.2 million troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan report difficulties on their return home, but many receive inadequate care from the US Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs...
Paycheck protection bill: Measure hurts unions, working families (LTE) News-Leader ...The paycheck deception bill aims to strip away (Missouri) public sector workers’ right to choose whether or not to have union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks, and it would infringe on these workers’ freedom of speech by making contributing to a political fund more difficult...
Montana Senate backs bill requiring 'dark money' groups to ID donors Missoulian ...The Senate, in a vote Monday that exposed the split among Republicans, endorsed an overhaul of Montana’s campaign finance law to require anonymous “dark money” political groups to disclose their donors...
Senate GOP pushes union dues, unemployment changes Associated Press ...The Georgia business lobby won another victory as the Senate approved a change on paycheck deductions for union dues and limited unemployment benefits for certain temporary workers...
Proposed Income Tax Cut Likely to Hurt, Rather than Help Wisconsin Economy Wisconsin Budget Project Blog ...n the 1990s, the five states with the deepest tax cuts grew at less than a third the rate of all the other states over the next economic cycle...
Kasich signs SB 47, starts clock for opponents to shut down bill Plain Dealer ...Gov. John Kasich signed legislation Friday that would make it harder for Ohio voters to repeal laws. Now the clock is ticking for opponents who could void the controversial bill...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Today's Teamster News 03.14.13
Out of Control – New Report Exposes JPMorgan Chase as Mostly a Criminal Enterprise naked capitalism ...as you read the report, it’s hard to see the bank as anything but a criminal racket just days away from imploding, were it not propped up by implicit bailout guarantees and light-touch regulators...
Oil Riding Rails Creates Jobs as Buffett Puffs Chest: Freight Bloomberg News ...They’re boosting employment in the process: Rail transportation payrolls have climbed by 9.1 percent, a pace more than twice as fast as total job growth, since the end of 2009...
Sales at U.S. Retailers Advance by Most in Five Months Bloomberg News ...Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and Ford Motor Co. are benefiting as employment gains bolster confidence and enable Americans to withstand the payroll tax increase that took effect in January...
Europeans want U.S. to Ditch “Buy American” Rules Trade Reform ...Obama keeps pushing a Trans Atlantic trade deal with Europe, despite the fact that other trade deals have helped make the trade deficit worse. One of the goals for Europeans is to get rid of Buy American rules in the U.S...
Majority of British children will soon be growing up in families struggling 'below the breadline' The Independent ...The impact on children of the economic downturn and austerity measures was underlined by an analysis that concluded that the number of under-18s living in households below minimum income standards would increase by 690,000 between 2010 and 2015...
Getting rich off of schoolchildren Salon ...Stop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billions...
Measure May Undermine Union Politics Arizona Public Radio ...Voters may get a chance next year to decide on a measure that would undermine union political influence...
What tax changes mean for Michigan's working class Michigan Public Radio ...many poor, working-class families saw an increase in their taxes in addition to tax increases they felt from other legislative changes...
Editorial: Missouri Senate blames unions for economic woes. Oh, please. St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Early Tuesday morning, while some of those workers were helping roll over your grandma or grandpa at the nursing home so they didn’t get bed sores, the Republicans who lead the state Senate set things right. They gave initial approval to a bill that will make it a little harder for the unions that represent those public employees to collect fees that might be used to elect thoughtful people to elected office...
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigns amid state, federal probe of non-profit veterans group Miami Herald ...Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned Tuesday after law enforcement officials questioned her about ties to a purported veterans charity organization at the center of a $300 million multi-state racketeering investigation...
Report: Some Pa. lawmakers received $117K in gifts; legislators deny freebies influenced votes The Republic ...Some Pennsylvania lawmakers took free trips to Ireland, Poland, Taiwan and Turkey. Others accepted tickets to Steelers, Penn State, Pitt and 76ers games, according to financial disclosure statements filed with the State Ethics Commission...
Governor trying to reduce pensions for state workers/teachers WHTM ..."Our (Pennsylvania) members did pay for a lot of years and they continued to pay," said Wendell Young, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. "They earned those benefits and they played by the rules. Now this governor comes along and kind of forgets that the state got a pass."...
Scott Walker signs bills on worker training, secretary of state powers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...La Follette sharply criticized the measure, which is the latest in a long line of steps to strip the secretary of state's office of most of its meaningful powers...
Hoffa, Floyd Demand Mayor Bloomberg Negotiate Settlement Of Equal Pay Class Action Suit By School Safety Agents IBT ...More than 5,000 current and former school safety agents—70 percent of whom are women—have joined the gender-based wage discrimination suit, which seeks to remedy the fact that other peace-officer titles, which are 70 percent male, receive $7,000 more in annual pay...
Judge orders Pratt to rehire truck drivers McClatchy-Tribune ...The ruling could also result in the truck drivers getting union representation. The company in April terminated Lower Nazareth resident Christian Salazar, who was speaking with other truck drivers about organizing a union with the Teamsters. Shortly afterward, the company laid off 11 additional truck drivers...
Teamsters to rally Youngstown Vindicator ...Teamsters Local 377 will have a rally and leafleting event today at the headquarters of Exal Corp. at One Performance Place to stir up support and inform employees of its efforts to unionize 364 workers at the aluminum-can-making company...
Oil Riding Rails Creates Jobs as Buffett Puffs Chest: Freight Bloomberg News ...They’re boosting employment in the process: Rail transportation payrolls have climbed by 9.1 percent, a pace more than twice as fast as total job growth, since the end of 2009...
Sales at U.S. Retailers Advance by Most in Five Months Bloomberg News ...Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and Ford Motor Co. are benefiting as employment gains bolster confidence and enable Americans to withstand the payroll tax increase that took effect in January...
Europeans want U.S. to Ditch “Buy American” Rules Trade Reform ...Obama keeps pushing a Trans Atlantic trade deal with Europe, despite the fact that other trade deals have helped make the trade deficit worse. One of the goals for Europeans is to get rid of Buy American rules in the U.S...
Majority of British children will soon be growing up in families struggling 'below the breadline' The Independent ...The impact on children of the economic downturn and austerity measures was underlined by an analysis that concluded that the number of under-18s living in households below minimum income standards would increase by 690,000 between 2010 and 2015...
Getting rich off of schoolchildren Salon ...Stop pretending wealthy CEOs pushing for charter schools are altruistic "reformers." They're raking in billions...
Measure May Undermine Union Politics Arizona Public Radio ...Voters may get a chance next year to decide on a measure that would undermine union political influence...
What tax changes mean for Michigan's working class Michigan Public Radio ...many poor, working-class families saw an increase in their taxes in addition to tax increases they felt from other legislative changes...
Editorial: Missouri Senate blames unions for economic woes. Oh, please. St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Early Tuesday morning, while some of those workers were helping roll over your grandma or grandpa at the nursing home so they didn’t get bed sores, the Republicans who lead the state Senate set things right. They gave initial approval to a bill that will make it a little harder for the unions that represent those public employees to collect fees that might be used to elect thoughtful people to elected office...
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigns amid state, federal probe of non-profit veterans group Miami Herald ...Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll abruptly resigned Tuesday after law enforcement officials questioned her about ties to a purported veterans charity organization at the center of a $300 million multi-state racketeering investigation...
Report: Some Pa. lawmakers received $117K in gifts; legislators deny freebies influenced votes The Republic ...Some Pennsylvania lawmakers took free trips to Ireland, Poland, Taiwan and Turkey. Others accepted tickets to Steelers, Penn State, Pitt and 76ers games, according to financial disclosure statements filed with the State Ethics Commission...
Governor trying to reduce pensions for state workers/teachers WHTM ..."Our (Pennsylvania) members did pay for a lot of years and they continued to pay," said Wendell Young, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. "They earned those benefits and they played by the rules. Now this governor comes along and kind of forgets that the state got a pass."...
Scott Walker signs bills on worker training, secretary of state powers Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ...La Follette sharply criticized the measure, which is the latest in a long line of steps to strip the secretary of state's office of most of its meaningful powers...
Hoffa, Floyd Demand Mayor Bloomberg Negotiate Settlement Of Equal Pay Class Action Suit By School Safety Agents IBT ...More than 5,000 current and former school safety agents—70 percent of whom are women—have joined the gender-based wage discrimination suit, which seeks to remedy the fact that other peace-officer titles, which are 70 percent male, receive $7,000 more in annual pay...
Judge orders Pratt to rehire truck drivers McClatchy-Tribune ...The ruling could also result in the truck drivers getting union representation. The company in April terminated Lower Nazareth resident Christian Salazar, who was speaking with other truck drivers about organizing a union with the Teamsters. Shortly afterward, the company laid off 11 additional truck drivers...
Teamsters to rally Youngstown Vindicator ...Teamsters Local 377 will have a rally and leafleting event today at the headquarters of Exal Corp. at One Performance Place to stir up support and inform employees of its efforts to unionize 364 workers at the aluminum-can-making company...
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Today's Teamster News 02.14.13
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of James R. Hoffa. Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
Jimmy Hoffa's son, Teamsters work to burnish tarnished image Detroit News ...Teamsters President Jim Hoffa is working to polish the legacy of his father, James R. Hoffa, the legendary Detroit labor leader who would have turned 100 today...
EU and US free-trade talks launched BBC ...The US said that "everything is on the table" in the talks. A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Federal workers’ unions rally near Capitol to protest sequestration Washington Post ...Public servants were out in force Tuesday, protesting potential federal budget cuts that would severely hinder their ability to serve the public...
Retail Sales in U.S. Increase for Third Straight Month Bloomberg ...Department stores and online merchants were among those showing growing demand as improving job prospects and a strengthening housing market helped companies...
American Airlines and US Airways agree to merge and create world’s biggest airline Associated Press ...The deal caps a turbulent period of bankruptcies and consolidation that leaves the U.S. airline industry dominated by four big carriers. The boards of American parent AMR Corp. and US Airways approved the deal late Wednesday...
Mexico unveils new strategy in war on drugs The Guardian ...Mexico's new administration has offered the first details of its new strategy in the country's war on drugs, saying the government will spend $9.2bn (£5.9bn) this year on social programmes...the announcement was a forceful rejection of his predecessor...
House Kills Latest Effort To Make Right-To-Work Law In N.H. New Hampshire Public Radio ...Union workers broke into raucous applause after Speaker of the House Terrie Norelli announced the tally of votes on the right to work bill brought before the full House on Wednesday...
Right-to-work building interest in Missouri St. Louis Post-Dispatch ...Legislation that could deal a blow to labor unions in Missouri is drawing increased interest at the Capitol, though the measure may still face a tough road to passage this year...
Mo. Sen. Committee Considers Bill That Would Eliminate Prevailing Wage Rule KBIA ...Randy Long is a non-union mechanical contractor from southwestern Missouri who sided with labor unions in opposing the bill. “Everybody deserves a good quality wage in this day and time," Long said...
MO House Speaker, Congressman candidate bury ALEC connections in campaign finance documents DailyKos ...you won't see the wining and dining of Missouri GOP leaders by ALEC special interests spelled out in lobbying documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission....The expenses, and there are plenty, are buried in finance documents filed with the Commission...
Americans for Prosperity tabulate at least 229 fiscal proposals, including Arch tax, on April ballot St. Louis Beacon ...In a sign that fiscally conservative groups are gearing up again in Missouri, the state’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity will be raising alarm bells Wednesday about the number of local tax proposals to be on ballots across the state on April 2...
Unions pack Assembly to protest labor-law rewrite Anchorage Daily News ...More than 750 people, many representing eight labor groups, clogged the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting in a sign of the fight to come over Mayor Dan Sullivan's proposal to weaken city unions...
Tax chief, legislators spar over Kasich’s budget Columbus Dispatch ... They questioned the state tax commissioner for hours about details of the sales-tax expansion, the impact of the income-tax cut and the facts behind a new severance tax on shale drilling...
Gov. Corbett Insists on Full Privatization of Pa. Liquor Store System CBS Philly ...even before he made his privatization proposal late last month, legislative leaders –- including the state House speaker — signalled that modernizing liquor sales, such as allowing beer and wine sales in grocery stores, seems more likely than full privatization...
Anti-union bill makes way through Kansas Legislature Kansas City Business Journal ...In addition to preventing the payment of union dues, House Bill 2023 would eliminate collective bargaining laws, change the process for workers' compensation appeals and delay unemployment benefits, the report says. The bill is a replica of model legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council...
Canonsburg approves contract for 20 employees Observer-Reporter ...the contract, between Canonsburg Borough and Teamsters Local 205...calls for a 70-cent per hour raise in 2013; 75-cent raise in 2014 and an 80-cent per hour raise in 2015...
Rhinebeck, Spackenkill school bus strike averted for now Poughkeepsie Journal ..."We have agreed to hold off on any kind of job action until they come back to the table and we will reevaluate at that point,” Teamsters Local 445 business agent Lori Polesel said...
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Today's Teamster News 12.26.12
Washington’s Serious People Are on the War Path Against Middle-Income and Poor People Economy in Crisis ...The Serious People in Washington, such as The Washington Post (both the opinion and news sections), the Wall Street Campaign to Fix the Debt, and the Republican Congressional leadership are in full budget-cutting frenzy. They demand cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and everything else that benefits middle income and poor people because, well, because the market demands it...
Shoppers Disappoint Retailers This Holiday Season Associated Press ...U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending...
Why Malls Are Getting Mauled Jeff Jordan ...Online retailers are relentlessly gaining share in many retail categories, and offline players are fighting for progressively smaller pieces of the retail pie. A number of physical retailers have already succumbed to online competition including Circuit City, Borders, CompUSA, Tower Records and Blockbuster, and many others are showing signs of serious economic distress...
Ted Koppel: “Fox News is Bad for America” The Big Picture ...He notes that there is no question when watching FoxNews where the ideological bent comes from...
Decline in foreclosure backlog may give false hope Palm Beach Post ...More than 40 percent of foreclosures cleared from Florida’s courts in recent months were dismissals, cases that likely will boomerang back into the overloaded judicial system when lenders are better prepared to continue their pursuit...
Teamsters picket Paterson's Crown Roll Leaf The Record ...About 50 employees who picketed outside Crown Roll Leaf, Inc. on Monday are preparing for a possible strike later this week to protest proposed new contract terms that call for 10-percent pay cuts and increases to health-care costs, union members said...
Shoppers Disappoint Retailers This Holiday Season Associated Press ...U.S. shoppers spent cautiously this holiday season, a disappointment for retailers who slashed prices to lure people into stores and now must hope for a post-Christmas burst of spending...
Why Malls Are Getting Mauled Jeff Jordan ...Online retailers are relentlessly gaining share in many retail categories, and offline players are fighting for progressively smaller pieces of the retail pie. A number of physical retailers have already succumbed to online competition including Circuit City, Borders, CompUSA, Tower Records and Blockbuster, and many others are showing signs of serious economic distress...
Ted Koppel: “Fox News is Bad for America” The Big Picture ...He notes that there is no question when watching FoxNews where the ideological bent comes from...
Decline in foreclosure backlog may give false hope Palm Beach Post ...More than 40 percent of foreclosures cleared from Florida’s courts in recent months were dismissals, cases that likely will boomerang back into the overloaded judicial system when lenders are better prepared to continue their pursuit...
Teamsters picket Paterson's Crown Roll Leaf The Record ...About 50 employees who picketed outside Crown Roll Leaf, Inc. on Monday are preparing for a possible strike later this week to protest proposed new contract terms that call for 10-percent pay cuts and increases to health-care costs, union members said...
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Today's Teamster News 12.25.12
Bond Vigilantes and the Power of Three (opinion) New York Times ...even if for some reason the vigilantes did attack, it’s very hard to see how they could cause a recession in a country that retains its own currency and doesn’t have large amounts of debt denominated in foreign currency...
Dockworkers at Northwest ports reject pact offer Reuters ...Dockworkers at four U.S. Pacific Northwest ports moved closer to a possible labor clash with grain shippers on Monday, as parties in a larger, separate dispute at 15 East and Gulf coast ports agreed to mediation ahead of strike deadline set for December 30...
Mr. Incompetent, the Economy Wrecker Alan Greenspan, Was Central to the Formation of the Campaign to Fix the Debt CEPR ..."The Campaign to Fix the Debt started to come together at a salon dinner held in the backyard of Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, in the fall of 2011. An influential group of economic, political and business leaders — including the former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Mark Bertolini, the chief executive of the Aetna insurance company — huddled in a too-small tent in the pouring rain..."
Student food banks fight hunger on campus Associated Press ...The student-run Tiger Pantry is among a growing number of programs at university campuses. Organizers say it's both a response to a weak economy and a sign of the latest trend in student activism...
Economy Weighs on Shoppers in Final Holiday Dash to Mall Bloomberg ...Americans have become warier as Washington approaches the end of the year without an agreement to forestall higher taxes and automatic spending cuts -- the so-called fiscal cliff. Last month, retailers from Macy’s Inc. (M) to Target Corp. (TGT) posted same- store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates...
Dockworkers at Northwest ports reject pact offer Reuters ...Dockworkers at four U.S. Pacific Northwest ports moved closer to a possible labor clash with grain shippers on Monday, as parties in a larger, separate dispute at 15 East and Gulf coast ports agreed to mediation ahead of strike deadline set for December 30...
Mr. Incompetent, the Economy Wrecker Alan Greenspan, Was Central to the Formation of the Campaign to Fix the Debt CEPR ..."The Campaign to Fix the Debt started to come together at a salon dinner held in the backyard of Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, in the fall of 2011. An influential group of economic, political and business leaders — including the former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Mark Bertolini, the chief executive of the Aetna insurance company — huddled in a too-small tent in the pouring rain..."
Student food banks fight hunger on campus Associated Press ...The student-run Tiger Pantry is among a growing number of programs at university campuses. Organizers say it's both a response to a weak economy and a sign of the latest trend in student activism...
Economy Weighs on Shoppers in Final Holiday Dash to Mall Bloomberg ...Americans have become warier as Washington approaches the end of the year without an agreement to forestall higher taxes and automatic spending cuts -- the so-called fiscal cliff. Last month, retailers from Macy’s Inc. (M) to Target Corp. (TGT) posted same- store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates...
Friday, October 19, 2012
Today's Teamster News 10.19.12
Wall Street CEOs Up Pressure for Grand Bargain in the Lame Duck Session firedoglake ...As soon as the election is over expect a powerful renewed push for a “grand bargain” that cuts entitlements...
Abercrombie and Fitch, Other Retail Workers Protest 'Abusive' Scheduling ABC News ...Employees of Abercrombie & Fitch, Best Buy and other retailers protested Wednesday along New York City's posh Fifth Avenue shopping district against what they call "abusive" work scheduling...
Koch-backed activists use power of data in bid to oust Obama from White House The Guardian ...Americans for Prosperity building sophisticated digital tools to target swing-state moderates and spread anti-Obama message...
Man Tied To Va. GOP Arrested In Voter Form Destruction Talking Points Memo ...A Pennsylvania man employed by a company working for the Republican Party of Virginia was arrested by investigators from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s office on Thursday and charged with destroying voter registration forms...
U.S. home owners file class action suit vs. banks over Libor Reuters ...U.S. home owners have filed a class action suit in New York against 12 of the world's major banks, claiming that Libor manipulation made mortgage repayments more expensive than they should have been, the Financial Times reported on Monday...
District court finds Crow Wing County committed unfair labor practice Brainerd Dispatch ...At the end of 2011 as a three-year collective bargaining agreements expired, the county notified the unions it would not extend step increases — an incremental wage increase...Unions represented in the court action were ... Minnesota Teamsters Public Law Enforcement Employees’ Union Local No. 320...
Abercrombie and Fitch, Other Retail Workers Protest 'Abusive' Scheduling ABC News ...Employees of Abercrombie & Fitch, Best Buy and other retailers protested Wednesday along New York City's posh Fifth Avenue shopping district against what they call "abusive" work scheduling...
Koch-backed activists use power of data in bid to oust Obama from White House The Guardian ...Americans for Prosperity building sophisticated digital tools to target swing-state moderates and spread anti-Obama message...
Man Tied To Va. GOP Arrested In Voter Form Destruction Talking Points Memo ...A Pennsylvania man employed by a company working for the Republican Party of Virginia was arrested by investigators from the Rockingham County Sheriff’s office on Thursday and charged with destroying voter registration forms...
U.S. home owners file class action suit vs. banks over Libor Reuters ...U.S. home owners have filed a class action suit in New York against 12 of the world's major banks, claiming that Libor manipulation made mortgage repayments more expensive than they should have been, the Financial Times reported on Monday...
District court finds Crow Wing County committed unfair labor practice Brainerd Dispatch ...At the end of 2011 as a three-year collective bargaining agreements expired, the county notified the unions it would not extend step increases — an incremental wage increase...Unions represented in the court action were ... Minnesota Teamsters Public Law Enforcement Employees’ Union Local No. 320...
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Today's Teamster News 04.01.02
Real Consumer Spending Up, 0.5%, Real Personal Income Down, -0.1%, for February 2012 Economic Populist ...people spent more than they earned in February ...Generally income isn't keeping up with spending, although 2011 saw a slight improvement from 2010...
Financiers and Sex Trafficking New York Times ...for more than six years Goldman has held a significant stake in a company notorious for ties to sex trafficking, and it sat on the company’s board for four of those years...
The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance Is Coming to an End Bloomberg ...The new mantra is small box. While Best Buy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT) are still opening large stores, all are putting increasing emphasis on smaller ones. Best Buy plans to double the number of its smaller Best Buy Mobile stores by 2016. Wal-Mart is building as many as 100 small-format stores this year, while Target is opening five CityTarget locations...
Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party members The Guardian ...Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party membersUnite accuses ministers of 'spoiling for a fight' after memo from MPs emerges comparing situation with 1980s miners' strike...
As a whole, truckers are respectful Fargo-Moorhead InForum ...Much attention has been focused on the phenomenon of “trucker bombs,” or urine that is discarded on the side of western North Dakota roadways in plastic bottles...
Coors Hates Immigrants, Say Teamsters at Cesar Chavez Event IBT ...Teamsters from four local unions and Joint Council 7 marched in the 12th Annual Cesar E. Chavez March today to raise awareness about anti-immigrant behavior, worker abuse and discrimination by DBI Beverage, the distributor of products by Coors Brewing Co. in Northern California...
Financiers and Sex Trafficking New York Times ...for more than six years Goldman has held a significant stake in a company notorious for ties to sex trafficking, and it sat on the company’s board for four of those years...
The Era of Big Box Retail Dominance Is Coming to an End Bloomberg ...The new mantra is small box. While Best Buy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT) are still opening large stores, all are putting increasing emphasis on smaller ones. Best Buy plans to double the number of its smaller Best Buy Mobile stores by 2016. Wal-Mart is building as many as 100 small-format stores this year, while Target is opening five CityTarget locations...
Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party members The Guardian ...Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party membersUnite accuses ministers of 'spoiling for a fight' after memo from MPs emerges comparing situation with 1980s miners' strike...
As a whole, truckers are respectful Fargo-Moorhead InForum ...Much attention has been focused on the phenomenon of “trucker bombs,” or urine that is discarded on the side of western North Dakota roadways in plastic bottles...
Coors Hates Immigrants, Say Teamsters at Cesar Chavez Event IBT ...Teamsters from four local unions and Joint Council 7 marched in the 12th Annual Cesar E. Chavez March today to raise awareness about anti-immigrant behavior, worker abuse and discrimination by DBI Beverage, the distributor of products by Coors Brewing Co. in Northern California...
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